Quality Systems, Inc. Acquires Opus Healthcare Solutions

Quality Systems, Inc. , a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced that QSI has entered into an agreement to acquire Opus Healthcare Solutions, Inc. The acquisition complements and will be integrated with the assets of Sphere Health Systems, Inc., which were acquired in August 2009. Both companies are established developers of software and services for the inpatient market and will become part of NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., QSI’s wholly owned subsidiary. The transactions are expected to be accretive in QSI’s fiscal year 2011, ending March 31, 2011.

NextGen Healthcare will focus on providing solutions to hospitals with 100 beds or less, a marketplace that has been historically underserved and is in desperate need of state-of-the-art systems.

“Combining the assets of Opus and Sphere will allow NextGen Healthcare to provide an integrated clinical and financial solution that is unmatched in terms of functionality. These acquisitions are a natural extension of our ‘single platform’ model and demonstrate how well we are positioned to meet the needs of the community healthcare market. This will clearly further strengthen NextGen Healthcare’s market leadership role,” noted Philip N. Kaplan, chief operating officer at QSI.

Scott Decker, president at NextGen Healthcare, added, “We have seen demand grow in the rural and community marketplace due to the Stark relaxation, emergence of health information exchange initiatives and impending incentives resulting from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Through our many years of working with ambulatory providers closely associated with or owned by community hospitals, it became clear that we could meet this demand by broadening our offering to include both ambulatory and inpatient solutions.

“In addition, clients have expressed the need for a single, ‘cloud-based’ technology platform that can be leveraged across ambulatory and inpatient care settings. These new acquisitions afford us the necessary capabilities to address client needs and fill a void currently present within the rural and community hospital marketplace. When considered in conjunction with our complementary Siemens Strategic Partnership, this announcement completes a strategy for distributing NextGen solutions across the entire inpatient and outpatient continuum,” Decker concluded.

“As the demand for EHR technology continues to grow, the timing is right for healthcare IT vendors to align and provide solutions that span the entire continuum of care. Our two companies share a proven track record for enhancing patient care with innovative technology, and in light of recent ARRA developments, we believe we are uniquely positioned to facilitate seamless integration across care environments,” said Tim Rhoads, chief executive officer and co-founder of Opus Healthcare Solutions.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Opus Healthcare Solutions, Inc. delivers Web-based clinical solutions to hospital systems and integrated health networks nationwide and is one of only three companies worldwide that has achieved the ’08 CCHIT Certified(R) Inpatient EHR System Certification Level. Based on a Web 2.0 architecture that leverages full “cloud computing” capabilities, the ’08 CCHIT Certified(R) Inpatient EHR System OpusClinicalSuite(R) Version 2.3 (Pre-Market) pushes clinical capabilities beyond the four walls of the hospital. The OpusClinicalSuite(R) provides a single point-of-access for clinicians to enter and retrieve all inpatient clinical information (patient vitals, lab results, medications, and imaging results) from the bedside or remote locations, including Smartphone access from any device with a data plan and standard Web browser. Implementing the OpusClinicalSuite(R) with its CPOE, Clinical Documentation, and Clinical Decision support capabilities will position hospitals to achieve the Stage 4 Adoption Level in the HIMSS(R) EMR Adoption Model and benefit from ARRA reimbursement opportunities.

Sphere Health Systems is a Laguna Hills, Calif.-based application software development and consulting firm. NextGen Healthcare acquired the company’s SPIRIT ENTERPRISE product, which is a comprehensive hospital information system (HIS) that includes applications for patient management, decision support, financial management and human resources.